


Of Bookstores and Sickness

by nauticalwarrior



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Reader-Insert, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 01:21:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7246507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nauticalwarrior/pseuds/nauticalwarrior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You really aren't feeling that great, but you should go to work anyways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Bookstores and Sickness

You sniffle, rubbing the underside of your nose and desperately wishing you hadn’t left the tissues at home. At first you’d thought you were just tired, but now you’re certain; you’re sick, and it  _ sucks _ . It’s not like you can do anything about it though, so you just have to bear with it until it goes away, and since you think it’s allergies, you can’t just miss work. No, you need the money too much to miss more than one day, and you’d like to save that for a day when you’re really and truly sick. Hence where you are now, walking to work despite your pounding headache and the bite of the wind against your neck. You could have  _ sworn  _ it wasn’t supposed to be chilly today, but you suppose you must have been mistaken. Regardless, you’re grateful when you see your workplace just ahead, a nice bookstore right between a Target and a Starbucks. 

 

You pull the door open, expecting the air to warm you, but instead it’s even colder. Huh. Maybe you should have brought a jacket? Too late now. You spot your co-worker at the checkout desk, looking bored and exhausted, so you head over, grinning slightly despite your headache. You and Arthur have become quite close since you started working here, and you’re always glad to see him despite his general moodiness.

 

“Hey Arthur!” Your voice sounds kind of muffled to you, and you wonder if it’s because of congestion. Hopefully there’s tissues in the backroom. You’re shelving new books today, if you remember correctly, so you’ll be back there a lot. 

 

“Hello.” He frowns at you. “Are you alright?” You have to think for a moment. Do you look sick? Nah, that’s silly. He’s probably just being polite.

 

You flash him a sort of weak smile. “I’m alright, you?” He blinks at you and nods, and you hope you don’t look too dumb. Your head throbs though, and you’re itching to get to the back room and sit down for a moment. It feels like there’s a hammer and a cloud inside your head, making everything painful but dulled down. Maybe you should have taken some medicine before you left. 

 

You make your way through the shelves and towards the break room taking your time to stare blankly at the shelves as you walk. The titles seem to blur together, colors and pictures bleeding into each other, and despite your slow pace, you stumble a bit, your foot catching on a book that must have fallen from the shelf. You catch yourself just fine, but your head spins and suddenly you wish you were sitting down because the floor is getting  _ really _ close. 

 

With a thump, your knees hit the floor. You hear Arthur shout something, but you don’t say anything, instead squeezing your eyes shut and trying to will the dizziness away. You feel kind of weak and nauseous, everything shifting around you and your arms shaking. You weren’t this sick when you left the house! What happened?

 

“Hey, are you okay?!” You open your eyes to see Arthur crouched down beside you, his face painted with concern. He grabs your shoulders to steady you, and you gratefully relax, allowing him to support you. He only looks more worried though, and you smile at him. 

 

“I just got a bit dizzy, that’s all. Allergies.” You try to sound cheerful, but you know he isn’t convinced. Maybe you should have stayed home today after all. 

 

He presses one hand to your forehead, and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Bloody hell, you’re burning up!” Before you can react, he’s scooping you up and standing up, carrying you bridal style. You grab onto him in surprise, startled. 

 

“Wait, Arthur, what are you doing?!” You wouldn’t normally complain if your hot coworker picked you up, but he didn’t even give you any warning! That, and your head's still spinning, making it hard to adjust to being in his arms.

 

“I’m taking you to the room with the couches. I can't believe you came to work like this! What were you thinking?” He starts walking in the direction of the reading room, a separate area in the bookstore with a couple couches, three armchairs, and some bean bags. You shut your eyes, because the room is starting to blur more, and you don’t want to get nauseated and throw up. 

 

“Well, I can’t just miss work, and I wasn’t feeling too bad this morning-” 

 

“You walk here! What if you had passed out on the street?! You could’ve been kidnapped, or hit by a car!” He sounds really upset, so you open your eyes. He’s red in the face, his brow furrowed and mouth set in a scowl.

 

You reach up with one hand to touch his cheek. “But I made it here, and you won’t let anything happen to me.” His eyes flicker down at you, and he promptly turns another shade of red, looking away. You see the color of the room shift, and realize you’re in the reading room. He gently sets you down on the couch, placing you so your head rests on the armrest and you’re in no danger of falling off. You shiver slightly, the room chillier than the main store had been. 

 

Arthur clears his throat. “Uh. Right. You stay here, I’m going to go get some water and a blanket. I’ll call Elizaveta and ask her to cover the store for today, because there’s no way you can work and no way I’m leaving you alone.” He stands up, and you murmur what you hopes sounds like “yes” as he walks away, glancing back at you before he turns the corner. You’re still dizzy, and  _ so  _ tired, so you let your eyes fall shut again, feeling like you’re sinking into the couch as you breathe.

 

“Hey, are you still asleep?” Arthur’s voice is soft and gentle. You peek open one eye and you’re surprised to see moonlight streaming in through the window. You’re wrapped up in a blue blanket, and you can feel something cool and wet on your head. You reach up to touch it, but Arthur’s hand stops yours.

 

“It’s a cold compress, love. You’ve slept through the whole day, had an awful fever too.” He still looks worried, but his face is softer than it was this morning, less frantic. 

 

“I feel a lot better.” Your voice is raspy, but you see Arthur smile anyways. 

 

“I’m glad. Elizaveta said she’d help me take you to the emergency room if you didn’t wake up by closing time, which is right now.” He presses one hand to your cheek gently. “And it seems your fever is gone, thank goodness.” 

 

You smile. “It’s because you’re such a good nurse, Arthur.” He turns a bit red, looking away to hide his smile. You laugh, and after a moment, so does he, covering his mouth with one hand. 

 

“Hey, Artie, how’s-” Elizaveta’s voice fills the room as she walks in, a book under one arm. “Oh, hey, you’re awake! You know, Arthur wouldn’t leave you alone the whole day, he was like-” 

  
“Shut it, Liza!” Arthur doesn’t really sound angry though, and you laugh agian, thankful for your friends.   

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this! Please comment/kudos, and if you want to request hetalia imagines you can send me an ask at http://hhhetalia-imagines.tumblr.com/


End file.
